Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 6

Samuel Nnorom
Brothers Keeper

2023

Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request

About the Item

As a child growing up in Nigeria, Samuel Nnorom’s artistic sensibilities emerged from observing the creative processes of his father, a shoemaker, and his mother, a tailor. Realizing his natural propensity for life drawing and sewing through these early explorations, Nnorom later developed his artistic skillset in art school, apprenticeships, and residencies. An element of his practice that has remained constant throughout his career is his dedication to textiles and their capacity as social agents in society. Points of Departure presents a new body of textile sculptures made from Ankara/African wax fabric sourced from tailors or from off-cast clothing that is wrapped around recycled foam into balls or “bubbles” of various dimensions. These textile orbs are formed into clusters that appear like dense land masses with differently coloured textiles suggesting people, mountains, streams, islands, and peninsulas. Ankara fabric has a unique origin story; while it came from the Dutch who manufactured the wax cotton for the Indonesian textile market, its eventual descent into Central and West Africa during the 19th century was where the fabric flourished and became iconic of the Region. Ankara fabric is popular in clothing, particularly dresses, shirts, and headscarves, and is known for its bold prints and bright colours. As a fabric that is used to drape the body, it is noteworthy that Nnorom sees the weft and weave of his fabrics as akin to a social structure. In his latest work, Nnorom looks at how his sculptures can be considered a metaphor for a “fabric of society,” made up of individual lives united in space. In particular, Points of Departure explores human survival through processes of migration, considering how the involuntary upheaval of human lives connects people despite their social or cultural backgrounds. For him, the history and social statement relayed in each Ankara fabric print becomes a visual language much like a written text. Nnorom’s work intersects the boundaries between tapestry, painting, and sculpture, similar to the way his work surpasses the bounds of representation, symbols, or exact points of reference. The methods he uses to cluster the orbs in space vary greatly: some are densely packed like Never Walk Alone (2023) and Brothers Keeper (2023), while others are spaced apart and connected by web-like tendrils as seen in Throw and Catch (2023) and Meeting Points (2023). The multitude of variations through colour, scale, and form demonstrate Nnorom’s capacity to push his chosen material and artistic strategy into infinite directions. The exhibition title, Points of Departure, is an apt sentiment for not only his interest in the intersection between textiles and human migration but for how this exhibition showcases the artist’s propulsion towards this new direction in his practice.
  • Creator:
    Samuel Nnorom (1990, Nigerian)
  • Creation Year:
    2023
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 67 in (170.18 cm)Width: 55 in (139.7 cm)Depth: 8 in (20.32 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Montreal, CA
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU47612188772

More From This Seller

View All
Still Holding
Located in Montreal, Quebec
As a child growing up in Nigeria, Samuel Nnorom’s artistic sensibilities emerged from observing the creative processes of his father, a shoemaker, and hi...
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Textile

Throw and Catch
Located in Montreal, Quebec
As a child growing up in Nigeria, Samuel Nnorom’s artistic sensibilities emerged from observing the creative processes of his father, a shoemaker, and hi...
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Textile

Survival
Located in Montreal, Quebec
As a child growing up in Nigeria, Samuel Nnorom’s artistic sensibilities emerged from observing the creative processes of his father, a shoemaker, and hi...
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Textile

Survival
Price Upon Request
Goes Around, comes around
Located in Montreal, Quebec
As a child growing up in Nigeria, Samuel Nnorom’s artistic sensibilities emerged from observing the creative processes of his father, a shoemaker, and hi...
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Textile

If e like e Good or Bad
Located in Montreal, Quebec
As a child growing up in Nigeria, Samuel Nnorom’s artistic sensibilities emerged from observing the creative processes of his father, a shoemaker, and hi...
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Textile

Suckers and
Located in Montreal, Quebec
As a child growing up in Nigeria, Samuel Nnorom’s artistic sensibilities emerged from observing the creative processes of his father, a shoemaker, and hi...
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Textile

You May Also Like

What's Old is New - Found Objects Abstract Sculpture
By Gwen Samuels
Located in Boston, MA
What's Old is New 18.0 x 20.0 x 4.0, 2.0 lbs Mixed Media Hand signed by artist Artist's Commentary: "What’s Old is New is part of series called: Mind Springs that all started wit...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Mixed Media

Materials

Mixed Media

"Eko" 2022
By David Paul Kay
Located in New York, NY
David Paul Kay "Eko" 2022 Mix media About the artist About the Artist David Paul Kay is an American contemporary artist based in New York City. With a focus on vibrant lines an...
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Mixed Media

"Synergy"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
The synergy of a man and a woman is a deep interaction of two energies that complement each other, creating a unity stronger than each one alone. It is a fusion of strength and tende...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Metal, Iron, Wire

"Synergy"
$14,400
Free Shipping
Poupées, 2025, sculpture - Pascal Courcelles
Located in Porto, 13
Pascal Courcelles – Poupées, 2024 Mixed media sculpture – 30 x 15 x 17 cm (11.8 x 5.9 x 6.7 in) Unique piece, signed by the artist Poupées by Pascal Cource...
Category

2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Brotherhood
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
"Brotherhood," a compelling artwork created by Abiodun Nafiu Azeez, encapsulates the essence of solidarity and companionship. In this piece, Azeez master...
Category

1990s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Brotherhood
$1,240 Sale Price
20% Off
Brother's Keeper
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Painting Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Linen, Acrylic